Telling
by Gilbert Winchester
Summary: <html><head></head>After 5 years of dating Reed, Shane finally decides to tell his father his secret.  two shot Dalton-verse</html>
1. Chapter 1

A lengthy arm laid lazily across a smaller form. Strawberry curls tangled with raven, as the sunlight from the loft window allowed the first traces of morning to outline the sleeping forms.

"Mmm" Shane murmured into a mass of curls. A small smile played across his lips taking in the familiar scent of wild flower and acrylic that was so uniquely Reed. The even breaths of the artist in his arms mixed with the sounds of the city in the early morning. He let out a contented sigh.

It had been two months since Reed and he had decided to move into their small loft apartment together; Five years since he first had the pleasure of calling Reed Van Kamp his. Time seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye. He swore it was only yesterday that he had his breath taken by a clumsy boy at Winterfest.

He felt the boy stir beneath him; sleepy brown eyes squinting up at him in the morning light.

"Good morning" he chuckled, pushing a few stray strands of golden hair away from the man's face; laying a soft kiss on his satin forehead.

A small groan escaped the smaller man as he burrowed his head into his partner's chest.

"Five more minutes!"

Shane laughed. There were many things that Reed Van Kamp was not, and a morning person was one of them.

He repositioned himself, pulling Reed up with strong arms, carrying him bridal style out of bed.

"Shane! Put me down! Put me down!" Reed giggled, using his free arm to playfully hit Shane on the chest.

"Hmm. I'll think about it" He flashed a cheeky grin down at the boy in his arms.

"Shane!"

"Alright. I'll put you down." Reed gave Shane a suspicious look right before Shane plopped him down on the cushiony bed. Reed pouted, blowing the hairs that had fallen into his face, as Shane laughed.

"Hmph" Reed crossed his arms in fake annoyance as Shane crawled back on to the bed, taking Reed into his arms. "Nope. That's not going to work this time." He fake pouted as Shane kissed the tender spot under Reed's ear, causing a gasp and a giggle to escape his lips.

"No?" Shane asked mischievously. "Well-" he repositioned himself so that he was now in front of Reed, "How about this?" He whispered, his face mere inches from Reed's. The boy in question blushed; a smile playing upon his lips.

"Oh come here you big lug." he laughed, closing the small distance between the two.

Reed sighed contentedly, as the kiss ended, resting his forehead against the other man's.

Reed began to get up from the bed. "I have to go get ready-there's an important meeting today at the office."

After Dalton, Reed had interned at his mother's fashion offices while he attended college for art and design. Now he was set to become the head photographer for the Van Kamp line. Reed truly loved photography, but his real passion remained painting; as was apparent to anyone who walked in to the paint splattered loft.

Shane tightened his grip around Reed's waist. "Wait!" he cried. Reed laughed.

"What?"

Shane smiled, planting a chaste kiss onto Reed's lips. "I love you."

Reed blushed. "I love you too-but now I really have to get up!"

"Fine." Shane pouted as he watched Reed cross the room and shut the door to the bathroom.

He sighed contentedly. If he could spend the rest of his life waking up next to Reed, and having mornings like these, he would in a heartbeat. Nothing would stop him from making Reed permanently his forever. Nothing except-Shane winced.

His father.

His father was the only roadblock keeping him from giving himself completely to Reed.

He had tried to tell him so many times. He had so many opportunities.

He couldn't face him. He wasn't strong like Blaine was.

The time passed quickly as Shane busied himself with making coffee for himself and Reed. He tried to forget about his earlier thoughts, but they kept returning to him.

He had to tell his dad about Reed. It had been 5 years for crying out loud.

Reed was different than Micah. They were young and naïve. What he had with Reed was real; it was different. That was why he had to preserve it. He had learned not to be as careless as he was with Micah. As far as his dad knew, Shane was living in the city with a good friend from college. He had never met Reed, thank God. Shane didn't want to endanger another person he loved. First Micah, then Blaine, he couldn't take the guilt of hurting anyone else because of him.

"Hey-" Shane was shaken from his thoughts as Reed made his way into the kitchen area. Upon noticing Shane's stricken expression he asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah-yeah everything's fine" Shane smiled halfheartedly.

"Shane-you're a terrible liar." Reed laughed leaning up against the counter and taking the smaller cup, "Now do you want to tell me what's really on your mind?"

Shane took in a deep breath deciding whether or not he should tell Reed what he had been thinking about doing. He looked down at the man next to him, with wide concerned eyes, and his front instantly melted away. He knew only one person could help Shane through what he was about to do, and that person was Reed.

He remembered long ago when their relationship had just started. Reed had been hiding his relationship with Shane from his mother and father for nearly a year before he finally got the courage to tell them. Reed's mother was only supportive of her son's sexuality, if not slightly judgmental of Shane. His father had been a different story all together. Shane heart still wrenched at the memory of Reed crying in his arms. Shane winced. That was exactly the reason he chose not to tell his own father about their relationship. If his dad ever found out about Reed, he didn't want to know what might happen.

He took a deep breath.

"Reed-we need to talk about something." Shane began carefully "It's nothing bad-" he rectified after seeing Reed's stricken face. Reed relaxed slightly. "Just-hear me out, okay?" Reed nodded pulling up a chair from the kitchen island.

"Okay"

Shane closed his eyes and released a long breath "I was thinking about-comingouttomydad."

"Really?" Reed asked his chocolate eyes boring into Shane's emerald ones.

He shrugged, "I think" he gave Reed a half-hearted smile, "I'm just-" he searched for the right word "scared." He whispered.

"Oh Shane," Reed grabbed the other man's hand from the counter, "He's going to find out sooner or later. I think he'd rather it be from you than from someone else."

That was true enough. It was already hard to hide their relationship, and had become increasingly more difficult in the last two months since they had moved in together. New York was a long way away from Colorodo, but he couldn't very well cut off all ties with his family without an explanation. If he wanted to have a life with Reed, he would have to do this.

"Alright." He sighed simply. "I'm going to do it. No more chickening out. No more keeping us a secret. I want to be able to tell everyone that we're together and not worry about him finding out."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Reed asked meekly. He was a bit afraid for Shane. He knew what happened to Blaine when he came out to their dad.

"No!"

Shane did not want to endanger Reed. He would not let his dad take Reed away from him.

Reed's eyes widened slightly at the sudden outburst. "Okay."

The two were silent for a moment, as though trying to read each other.

Shane closed his eyes, turning his head toward the ceiling. He took a deep breath before returning his gaze to Reed's concerned eyes. "I can't lose you. I can't have anyone else get hurt because of me."

Reed had hardly ever heard Shane sound so vulnerable. Reed put his arms around Shane's torso comfortingly.

"I'm not going anywhere." He whispered.

"I know. I just have to do this for myself." He buried his head in Reed's curls, savoring the scent.

The two stayed that way for an unknown amount of time, both enjoying the comforting feeling it gave them. After Shane told his father, he had no idea what might happen. He was just happy that he had Reed in his arms right now.

They pulled apart, Reed giving Shane a reassuring smile before he reluctantly left for the office.

As the door shut, Shane was suddenly aware of how quiet the loft was. Shane worked for a small dance company in the heart of the city, while he attended an arts college. His classes weren't until later that day, so he had the loft to himself for a few hours. He stared at the phone on the table across the room. It was now or never. He was going to have to call his dad sooner or later.

He took a deep breath. After a few moments he picked up the phone and dialed the number.

The phone rung once, twice, six times before a low voice grumbled from the other end.

"Hello."

He closed his eyes. It was now or never.

"Dad?"

"Shane? I'm very busy right now, so make it quick." He grumbled.

"I have to talk to you about something. I'm going to need to see you in person."

There was silence on the other end, the sound of his dad shouting at one of his employees. Shane grimaced.

"When?"

"Is Saturday at noon fine?" Yep. There was no turning back now.


	2. Chapter 2

Shane took a deep breath as he knocked on the door. It had been a few days since he had spoken to his dad over the phone. He knew that this probably would not end well, and he hoped that he at least made it out of Colorado in one piece.

_Shane wrapped his arms around his boyfriend in the hotel room they were staying at. _

_Although Shane would not, under any circumstances allow Reed to come with him to his dad's house, he had insisted upon coming to Colorado with him. There was no way Reed was going to let him face this completely alone. _

'_Are you sure about this?' Reed asked one last time, knotting his hands into the other man's t-shirt._

"_He put a hand under Reed's chin, bringing his face up to meet his eyes. "Whatever happens, happens. I'm not letting him control me anymore. I'm not letting anything prevent me from being with you."_

_He placed a soft lingering kiss on the smaller boy's lips; a kiss that said more than words ever could, before leaving out the door._

After what seemed like an eternity, a short middle aged man answered the door. He wasn't exactly smiling, but he wasn't frowning either, which Shane took as a good sign. It was rare that his father displayed any kind of emotion, unless it was one extreme or the other.

"Hi dad." He spoke carefully, displaying a false sense of calm. He flashed a smile, pushing back the voices of doubt in his mind that were threatening to take hold of him.

"Shane. I can't say I'm not surprised to see you." Shane let out a nervous laugh as he walked into the now intimidatingly large house. It had been months since he had last spoken to his dad. He blamed the lack of contact on the distance.

"Yeah, sorry about that Dad, New York's just so far away. You know. I'm just busy…" Mr. Anderson nodded.

"Well you're here now. What did you want to talk about?" the two walked into the living room; the living room where he had been caught with Micah. Shane cringed at the memory and sat carefully on the couch.

Shane looked around nervously, wishing his mom was here and not at the office. He didn't even know how to begin. How was he just supposed to come out and say 'by the way dad, I'm gay. I've been dating for the past 5 years a boy for the past five years. '

He was sure that wasn't going to go over well.

He took a deep breath, breaking the silence in the room like a knife.

"Do you remember when you caught Blaine's boyfriend in here? You know, before he went to Dalton…" he began carefully, not meeting his father's gaze.

The older man's face hardened; mouth forming a straight line.

"What about it?" he spoke carefully. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

Shane fumbled with the threads of his t-shirt. His heart hammered in his chest.

"-That…wasn't…Blaine's boyfriend." He spoke slowly. His father's scowl increased.

"No. You aren't saying what I think you're saying. You can't be-" he began to get up from the couch, cheeks flushed in anger.

"He was my boyfriend, dad. I'm gay." He closed his eyes, willing himself to disappear. He could hear the words. Nasty words. Something about not having two fags in the family. Shane inwardly winced. Then he felt it; a sharp slap to the cheek. He grunted falling sideways onto the couch.

He opened his eyes for the first time since telling him; holding back the tears that threatened to fall down his bruised cheek. Mr. Anderson stood on the other side of the room now, pacing, yelling. He didn't care to really listen to what he was saying.

"You can hit me as much as you want, _dad,_" he said the word with contempt, like the title wasn't even fitting anymore; like it never was. "You aren't going to change what I am. It didn't work with Blaine and it's not going to work with me." Shane carefully picked himself up from the floor, rubbing his throbbing cheek.

"What have you really been doing all these fucking years Shane? Fucking around with other fags?" his voice was so loud, so fully of anger. He could feel the vibrations, like daggers in his damaged heart.

Shane didn't answer. He gritted his teeth; trying to control his hatred for the man he once called his father.

"That's what I thought. I can't even call you my son anymore. You're nothing to me. Nothing."

Shane's eyes met his fathers. Hurt radiated through his chest. He might not have had a particularly close relationship with his father, but the words still stung.

"Do I look like I care? I don't need you in my life. I have everything I need back in New York, without you." He hated how his voice came out; strangled and vulnerable.

A cruel laugh broke through the tense air.

"Back with your little fuck buddy?"

That was it. Shane snapped.

"For your information, I have a _boyfriend,_ and he's an amazing, beautiful person, we've been dating for five years. I love him and I'd do anything in the world for him. Not that you'd know anything about real love. He's a hundred times the person you'll ever be!" Shane's face was red with anger as he grabbed his jacket and made his way for the door. "I'm done. Have a nice fucking life _dad_" he bit, before slamming the door behind him, not caring if the conversation was over or not.

He made his way out to the car, Mr. Anderson shouting behind him as he slammed the door and drove away.

Shane made it all the way back to the hotel before he broke down. He opened the hotel room door to find Reed pacing the floor. The two froze for a moment, Reed's worried eyes bore into his, willing everything to be okay.

"Shane…you're hurt…" Reed crossed the room carefully examining the welt on Shane's face left by his father.

Shane winced at Reed's touch and then relaxed.

"I'm fine."

"Oh Shane…" he sighed into his shirt. "I'm so sorry…" he knew exactly how Shane felt. It was the same way he felt when he came out to his dad so many years ago, even if he wouldn't show it.

"Don't be. I'm not. I knew this would happen, and it's not like he was ever there for me anyway." he smiled half-heartedly down at Reed. "I'm fine."

He pulled Reed to him, kissing the top of his head. "I have you, and that's all that matters." He murmured; his voice full of love and pain at the same time. Reed smiled, as the two shared a chaste, sweet kiss. No matter what his family life was like, he knew that as long as he had Reed, everything would somehow be all right.


End file.
